


Season's End

by Solemnly_Swear



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 09:00:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11483049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solemnly_Swear/pseuds/Solemnly_Swear





	Season's End

**Season’s End**

 

_ I am Leaf.  This is my story. _

 

It all began on a particularly blustery day.  (Okay, it  _ actually _ began many, many moons ago, but I’m saving you some snores and cutting right to the exciting part.)  I was nestled in the boughs of  _ the _ perfect tree.  It was close enough to Nesingwary’s Retreat for me to observe a lot of action.  Some may call it spying; I call it people-watching.  I caught snippets of conversations and saw people from near and far.  I heard the victorious cries of hunters as their arrows struck right on target.  I watched as men and women, clad in gleaming armor, traipsed through.  For them, my little nook of the world was but one point on a journey, probably forgotten soon after they vanished from my view.

Each day in my tree brought me new friends and discoveries.  It was as if it revealed itself to me one day at a time.  Sometimes the skies would be so cloudy and cool I would wonder if the sun would never rise.  On those days the winds whipped and twirled through branches and fellow leaves, weaving a song I grew accustomed to.  It’s a silly notion, but on those days especially it felt as if my tree lived and breathed just for me.  Call me selfish, but I cherished the days when my tree and I were alone.  I bared my soul to my tree, sharing all of my secrets, wishes, and dreams.  In return, it gave me fortitude and comfort.  It was home.

Some days my tree would be greeted by beautiful creatures with colorful wings.  They would flutter around with a grace unlike anything I’d ever seen.  If I lay very still, they might forget I was there, landing upon me like I lay upon my tree.  These winged beauties filled my heart with a sense of wonder and put my mind at ease.  Yet, my favorite days were those when my little friend, a squirrel I called Monk, visited me.  He was such a chattery fellow and he always seemed to be filled to the brim with joy.  “I’ve got an acorn” I could imagine him saying in a voice smaller and squeakier than mine, “today’s a great day!”.  Indeed, every day  _ was _ a great day to be a squirrel or a Leaf.

But I'm getting off track...I was going to tell you what happened that day.  I immediately knew there was something off about the voice of the wind.  It didn’t hum - it screamed.  Louder and more violent it grew, but I thought I was safe in my tree.  I was wrong.  My veins froze solid as suddenly a strong wind ripped me from my beloved branch.  I tumbled through the air in a frantic dance for what felt like a lifetime, eventually landing in the nearby river.  My heart yearned for my tree even as the roaring current carried me swiftly downstream.  I tried to escape the clutches that river had on me, but it was of no use.  I was but a small, helpless Leaf and the water much stronger than I.  Without a choice, I bobbled along the top of the water, watching my world fade into the shadows.

I entered a foreign land.  I passed farms with strange creatures I’d never seen before.  I crashed into rocks, leaving me battered and bruised.  I got caught up on branches, ripping my thin skin before the current could break me free.  I was eventually carried around a bend and then -  _ whoosh - _ I felt as though the sky was beneath me.  For a brief moment in time, I was free.   _ This is how my winged friends must feel _ , I thought, but as quickly as the sensation had come, it vanished.   _ Splash!   _ I was returned to the river. Beneath the waterfall the currents grew stronger and I drifted more quickly away from everything I’d ever known.  A hulking figure loomed on the riverbank and instinctively I sucked in my breath and ducked beneath the surface.  Little did I know I had narrowly missed the hungry eyes of a Rivertroller.

Some might think  _ that _ was the real story, but it’s not.  It didn’t end there.  When I dared to resurface I found myself in a narrow stream of water between rocky cliffs.  The rapids slowed to an almost soothing ripple.  I felt myself being rocked into a peaceful sleep as the stars began to appear in the skies above me.  I don’t know how much time passed before I woke, but when I did I had that strange feeling again.  It was as if I were a feather floating on a breeze, slowly approaching an unknown destination.  “This is it,” I whispered, “I’ve either found the Light or the Twisting Nether.”  I was almost afraid to open my eyes to see which fate would greet me.

When I drew up the courage to take a peek, I found that it was neither.  Instead, I was greeted by a green so  _ green _ it permeated all my senses.  It was as if for the first time in my life I knew the song and dance of the essence of life.  It was all around me.  It almost  _ was _ me...or maybe I was it.  The gushing river had become a pool, disturbed only by the tiny round ripples of raindrops.  Here I was able to regain my strength and swim.  I made my way to the bank and waded out, feeling the soft crush of vegetation beneath me as I began drinking this new world in.  It was somewhere in those moments where I found myself, as if the mists of my soul had parted and allowed a new light to flood into me.

From there, I’m afraid the rest of the story grows boring.  I left the pool behind and found a path through the groves nearby.  I followed it along the bends and curves of the lazy river, eventually meeting up with another traveller.  She lifted me onto the back of her horse and carried me deeper into the heart of Val’sharah.  She was heading to Lorlathil and I, unfamiliar with my surroundings, had little choice but to accompany her.  She would like to say she rescued me, but I prefer to think she merely helped me find my destination.

 

_ And that’s the story of how I, Leaf, was torn away from my tree and discovered new roots. _

 


End file.
